Ways to make $150k+ in pharmacy? Clinical or Retail?

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Now I know money is not everything, but I would like to know that there are opportunities to make a good living and be able to put away for the future (kids, college, weddings etc). Anyway, ARE there opportunities with a PharmD to make 150K+? If there are, where are the opportunities better? Clinical route or Retail? I am a hard worker, and I would gladly work extra shifts if need be, taking everything into consideration, Clinical or Retail?
Thanks.

ps. please guys, don't start lecturing me about "your in it for the wrong reasons" or "why not become a doctor if all you think about is money?" lol, thank you.

Academia + consulting. DOP in large health system. Hospital Administration. Those are just a few. Assistant profs (lowest on the ladder) start at 6 figures. Associate get around 130K or so. Tenured professor gets more. You can pay yourself with grants, too. Dean and you're looking at over 200k. These figures are available on AACP website.

earn your pharmd, start doing adult webcam shows. probably the best way to get to making that point.

Originally Posted by PharmaTope

earn your pharmd, start doing adult webcam shows. probably the best way to get to making that point.

You'd know best, wouldn't you

You can do retail and pick up a lot of OT shifts, or get a 7 on 7 off job and work 2 jobs.

Originally Posted by PharmaTope

earn your pharmd, start doing adult webcam shows. probably the best way to get to making that point.

Does one wear the whitecoat whilst doing the webcam shows?

Originally Posted by joetrisman

Does one wear the whitecoat whilst doing the webcam shows?

I'd pay more for that.

Watch out someone here has a white coat fetish. No one is safe!

Originally Posted by rx2010

You can do retail and pick up a lot of OT shifts, or get a 7 on 7 off job and work 2 jobs.

Right. That's how I made $170K last year.

Originally Posted by rx2010

You can do retail and pick up a lot of OT shifts.

OT is rare nowadays...

work alot of overtime/extra shifts. I worked extra shifts at my hospital (just regular pay and not 1.5x) during my residency and earned over 20k in that year in just extra shifts. I also picked up some easy retail hours like 5pm-9pm alot as a prn. So yes if you are willing to work alot of doubles 6:30am-11pm and at least 50 hours per week then yea you can make 150k easy without overtime pay.

One word: Alaska

Originally Posted by PharmD2Be48

Now I know money is not everything, but I would like to know that there are opportunities to make a good living and be able to put away for the future (kids, college, weddings etc). Anyway, ARE there opportunities with a PharmD to make 150K+? If there are, where are the opportunities better? Clinical route or Retail? I am a hard worker, and I would gladly work extra shifts if need be, taking everything into consideration, Clinical or Retail?
Thanks.

ps. please guys, don't start lecturing me about "your in it for the wrong reasons" or "why not become a doctor if all you think about is money?" lol, thank you.

Just marry a Surgeon My lady makes over 3 times my salary.

Own your own pharmacy. **** lottery, make your own dream.

Originally Posted by PumpkinSmasher

Just marry a Surgeon My lady makes over 3 times my salary.

Is she taking applications?

Originally Posted by Sparda29

Own your own pharmacy. **** lottery, make your own dream.

Originally Posted by Sparda29

Own your own pharmacy. **** lottery, make your own dream.

This is about right. Owning your own pharmacy and being succesful will get you 150k+

get a job as a dean? my dean makes $324,504 a year.

I work full time in retail...do mainly 12 hour day with 9 hours each day every other weekend.....i pick up lots of OT at the retail gig and I do PRN at a hospital.....i pulled in almost $150k.....not quite but close, I'm just hammering away on student loans. Both the wife and I are RPh's, both had $150k in loans and now we are each down to about $86k

Work at Kaiser. RPH are getting a pay increase to $75/hr now.

150k is not hard for more retail pharmacists once you factor in holiday, bonus, etc. OT is a must.

1. Work in Alaska. The state is starving for Pharmacists. I've heard stories of new grads earning 165,000 per year.

2. Own your own pharmacy. These pharmacists still earn over 200K per year

3. Work in Academia. But this will take a LONG TIME to earn that 150+ salary. You gotta get tenure, get published, research, etc. Basically you'll be old by the time you start earning this amount of money.

4. Work your way up in a hospital

5. Work 2 jobs

Yeah, what MTL said, work 2 jobs....one in clinical & one in retail. I've known a couple of people to do that, work 1st shift at a hospital job & 2nd shift at a retail job (or vice versa or throw in a 3rd shift with one.) Not a great quality of life, but its a way to get debts paid off quickly.

Best way to end up with $150k out of pharmacy is start off with $300k and spend $150k on tuition.

Originally Posted by habeansha

get a job as a dean? my dean makes $324,504 a year.

Yeah, but that's $324,594 in Hawaii. That's only enough to afford a double wide and a Ford Taurus there.

Originally Posted by pharm B

Yeah, but that's $324,594 in Hawaii. That's only enough to afford a double wide and a Ford Taurus there.

Don't say that too loud or mikey might head to HI. In retrospect, that would be kinda hilarious if he became a Dean considering his experiences with rx school.

I lol'd. If mikey was dean, there probably wouldn't be so many bs classes/assignments. I could live with that.

Originally Posted by Aznfarmerboi

150k is not hard for more retail pharmacists once you factor in holiday, bonus, etc. OT is a must.

OT? LOL...any company that is dishing out OT in these times deserve to be in run out of business...or have management fired.

Originally Posted by Lnsean

OT? LOL...any company that is dishing out OT in these times deserve to be in run out of business...or have management fired.

On the flip side, there are retail stores offering OT to current pharmacists, rather than hiring new ones.

Originally Posted by SkiPharmer

I work full time in retail...do mainly 12 hour day with 9 hours each day every other weekend.....i pick up lots of OT at the retail gig and I do PRN at a hospital.....i pulled in almost $150k.....not quite but close, I'm just hammering away on student loans. Both the wife and I are RPh's, both had $150k in loans and now we are each down to about $86k

Damn you and your wife will be loaded in a few years if you continue that road but then again you want a life too lol

Basically working extra to make more money means you trade time for money. The most primitive method of earning an income since you only have finite time per day. So your income is limited by the amount of time you have in a day. Then again this is whole another topic.

There aren't many pharmacist jobs that pay over $150k for 40 hours a week. Hospital DOP position will range from $120k to $225k. Or own your Indy and make more or go broke.

This is where benefits can make a big difference. Some employers benefit package can cost upwards to 50%...which means if your salary is $120k...your total compensation can be $180k.

That's why its important to not judge a job by $ per hour. Study the benefits.

Originally Posted by Lnsean

OT? LOL...any company that is dishing out OT in these times deserve to be in run out of business...or have management fired.

OT in pharmacy does not cost that much more since most retail pharmacists are paid a premium of only 6 dollars. It is more cost effective sometimes to give OT than to hire another pharmacist, pay them a guarantee contracted amount of hours even if there is no work for them, and give them 40k worth of benefits.

Also, there is always OT around holidays, weekends, and certain weeks where people just do not want to work.

If my base is 140k for 40 hours, I can easily make 160k picking up 5 hours each week.

I should be well over 150k, this is my first year out of school and as of the new year, I've made over 70k working retail at less than $60 an hour. If i stay at the current rate i could break 200k. I get time and half OT here in Cali and double time for anything worked past 12hours or if I work 7 days in the same work week.

But i am doing exactly what Z is talking about; trading my time for money. It is unsustainable in the long term, but for now....WHEEEEEEEEEE!

Originally Posted by BuffaloPills

working retail at less than $60 an hour. I get time and half OT here in Cali and double time for anything worked past 12hours or if I work 7 days in the same work week.

I can safely say you are underpaid if you get < $60/hour retail in CA

Originally Posted by BuffaloPills

I should be well over 150k, this is my first year out of school and as of the new year, I've made over 70k working retail at less than $60 an hour. If i stay at the current rate i could break 200k. I get time and half OT here in Cali and double time for anything worked past 12hours or if I work 7 days in the same work week.

But i am doing exactly what Z is talking about; trading my time for money. It is unsustainable in the long term, but for now....WHEEEEEEEEEE!

I am definitely breaking 175k barrier this year but it is unsustainable. After breaking 150k for the last few years... it is getting old. The idea of working 30 hours is really tempting now. I can still pull in 6 figures with 30k.

Zpak is my hero.

Working for someone else isn't going to make you rich, I think everyone knows that. The long term investment goal is to accumulate assets that generated net income. However, the old saying that it takes money to make money is true.

Paying off student loans faster is the same as 6.8% after-tax return on investment. In comparison, a 10% pre-tax return on an investment property is considered good and carrying more risk and required initial capital. So if you have are freshly out, with no investment money and high interest loans, work extra to eliminate the liability and free up cashflow is not a bad idea.

own your own store. 150K + easily. That is if you make it

Originally Posted by xiphoid2010

Working for someone else isn't going to make you rich, I think everyone knows that. The long term investment goal is to accumulate assets that generated net income. However, the old saying that it takes money to make money is true.

Cliche' cliche' cliche'

Working for someone else can make you rich
Residual income generation is the goal of investment or business.
If it takes money to make money, then no poor person ever got rich.

I've typed this before somewhere.

There are 3 ways to make money.

1. Trade time for money. Through a job. JOB = just over broke because without a job you're broke. This is the most primitive method. Your income is limited by the time you have. 24 hours per day. It takes a long time...sometimes a life time accumulate wealth this way.

2. Investment. This takes money. That is the limitation. You can also lose it.

3. By buying other people's time to duplicate your effort. There is no limit on income potential when you start to buy other people's time. More time you buy more money you can make. This is the most efficient and the fastest way to accumulate wealth. Done through a business ownership... Ex. Dr. M can keep opening pharmacies and duplicate his effort by hiring people to do his work. At some point, he can stop working while income is generated. This is Mr. JCPenny, Sam Walton, Mr. Walgreen etc got rich.


Money is neither evil or good. It's a tool that can do good or bad. After all, money builds schools. hospitals, and churches. It can feed and heal the poor.

We're all slaves to it.

But in order for you to truly enjoy life, you need more than money.

You need a combination of Money, Time, and Youth.

All the time and youth is great....yet with no money, your fun is limited.
All the Money and Youth is good...yet with no time to enjoy it, what good is it?
All the Money and time is good but with no youth, what are you going to do?

In order to attain Money, Time, and Youth, you need a residual income that can sustain the lifestyle of fun without having to work. To get up in the morning and ask... what should I do today... instead of having to work in my opinion is the true freedom.

Money, time, and youth.

Originally Posted by Its Z

Working for someone else can make you rich
Residual income generation is the goal of investment or business.
If it takes money to make money, then no poor person ever got rich.

Z, you know what I was referring to. We both are talking about the same principles, so why split hair on wording?

Working for someone will not make you rich compared to the one you work for. And you alluded to hiring someone to do your work to make money for you.

Accumulating assets that generate net income, aka passive income (I alluded to investment properties), is residual income generation. This is the investment and buying other people's time methods you referred to.

It takes money to make real money. Baring the few sports stars and such, most of us need to invest, and hence investment capitals, to make real money.

We are not talking about the same thing.

Residual income you're referring to through real estate is really not the same as what I'm talking about.

"Real" money is subjective.

I know many people who got rich working for someone else and I know someone who started a company with $250..that turned into a 1,600 employee $300 million dollar company. I worked for him. A lot of people who worked for him got very wealthy. None sports stars.

Money can make money. But it's not a requirement. I personally started with a very small capital and built a large business. I also partnered with someone with an elaborate software which didn't take much capital to build.

Great idea and an implementation of the idea with or without money can make a lot of money.

I don't want people who read the forum to believe that one must have a sizable capital to make money. It's just not true. It's a cliche' of the older generation. Don't believe it for a second.

Originally Posted by Its Z

I've typed this before somewhere.

There are 3 ways to make money.

1. Trade time for money. Through a job. JOB = just over broke because without a job you're broke. This is the most primitive method. Your income is limited by the time you have. 24 hours per day. It takes a long time...sometimes a life time accumulate wealth this way.

2. Investment. This takes money. That is the limitation. You can also lose it.

3. By buying other people's time to duplicate your effort. There is no limit on income potential when you start to buy other people's time. More time you buy more money you can make. This is the most efficient and the fastest way to accumulate wealth. Done through a business ownership... Ex. Dr. M can keep opening pharmacies and duplicate his effort by hiring people to do his work. At some point, he can stop working while income is generated. This is Mr. JCPenny, Sam Walton, Mr. Walgreen etc got rich.


Money is neither evil or good. It's a tool that can do good or bad. After all, money builds schools. hospitals, and churches. It can feed and heal the poor.

We're all slaves to it.

But in order for you to truly enjoy life, you need more than money.

You need a combination of Money, Time, and Youth.

All the time and youth is great....yet with no money, your fun is limited.
All the Money and Youth is good...yet with no time to enjoy it, what good is it?
All the Money and time is good but with no youth, what are you going to do?

In order to attain Money, Time, and Youth, you need a residual income that can sustain the lifestyle of fun without having to work. To get up in the morning and ask... what should I do today... instead of having to work in my opinion is the true freedom.

Money, time, and youth.

Please define youth. Like 25 years old? or 35?

Originally Posted by Doctor M

Please define youth. Like 25 years old? or 35?

Youth means health.

Youth means physically being able to do what you want to without limitations. This isn't always age dependent. It depends on your health.

I still have my youth.

Dood...

The meaning of that saying is that working for CVS, Walgreens, or being a DOP, isn't going to make your rich compared to who you work for. There are few exceptions to every general rule.

Didn't said one needs a huge capital. It's just a question how much capital, time and profit. Open a pharmacy, the less initial capital, the more loans is needed, lower the profit. But I agree that great idea and implementation are also key to make lot of money.

The forum is mostly either in school or recent grads. Likely to have negative net-worth and little business experience. Since most start ups fail, I personally wouldn't put money into an investment if I can't afford to lose all of it. So working extra hours and turn a 6.8% after tax return is not a bad short term plan for new grads, it wouldn't be long before finally have money to safely play with.

Originally Posted by Its Z

Youth means health.

Youth means physically being able to do what you want to without limitations. This isn't always age dependent. It depends on your health.

I still have my youth.

Dood...

I have no youth...